Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation

In the land of Mordor, the dark lord Sauron plots to cast the lands of Middle-earth into eternal darkness. He only lacks the One Ring, an artifact of ultimate power… and it hangs around the neck of a humble and unassuming hobbit, Frodo Baggins. From the Shire, Frodo and his companions plan their perilous route to Mount Doom. Sauron’s forces will hunt Frodo every step of the way, but many will help him on his journey, prepared to pay the ultimate price to ensure that Frodo destroys the One Ring and restores peace to Middle-earth!

One of Reiner Knizia’s most highly regarded games, Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, is back! This new, compact edition allows both experienced and new players to join the struggle for Middle-earth. Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation is a two-player board game in which one player controls of the Fellowship of the Ring, and the other player wields the forces of Sauron.

Each side has nine units at its disposal, with varying strengths and abilities, and each player has cards that augment his units’ strength values. Additionally, the identities of a player’s characters are hidden from his opponent through the use of plastic character stands.

Outbluff and Outmaneuver

At its heart, Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation is a game of out-bluffing and outmaneuvering your opponent. On each turn, a player moves a piece. If he moves into a space containing an enemy, then combat is initiated. First, the units are revealed, along with their strength value. The characters’ special abilities are now resolved. Frodo, for example, can put on the Ring of power to become invisible, allowing him to retreat sideways.

Next, each player prepares for battle by choosing a card from his hand and placing it face down on the table. Both cards are revealed simultaneously, combat is resolved and the dead are removed from the board. You must choose your cards wisely, since no combat card can be used again until all the rest have been played! Most of these cards are numbered, and they add to the strength of the fighting unit. Some of these cards, however, contain other powers, which can deliver an unwelcome surprise to your opponent. For example, the Fellowship’s Elven Cloak card carries the protection of lady Galadriel, so if the Sauron player chooses a numbered card to boost his character’s strength, the additional strength it would add is ignored, increasing the Fellowship character’s chance of survival.

Since Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation is designed by the celebrated and prolific Reiner Knizia, players can expect the level of elegant simplicity and strategic depth that he’s known for. Between its stunning artwork and its faithful recreation of the race between the Fellowship and Sauron, you’ll find Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation to be uniquely immersive, so you can enjoy a perilous adventure in Middle-earth.

What's Different in the Revised Edition?

The rulebook contains additional clarifications to make the game even more accessible and easy to play.

This compact new edition features scaled down bridge sized cards, as well as scaled down character stands and tiles, with new character cards to serve as reminders of character abilities.

The game board now has visual reminders, such as character limit indicators and darker mountain borders to help clarify play.

It features stunning new artwork for variant game Fellowship characters, as well as for several cards.

Fans old and new will surely enjoy this new printing of one of Reiner Knizia’s best works. The game’s straightforward mechanics, along with the immersive Lord of the Rings theme, bring players deep into the battle for Middle-earth. Offering the Classic game, as well as the Variant, and Draft game options (introduced in the Deluxe Edition), Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation is endlessly replayable, offering players countless options and opportunities to maneuver their way to victory.